Brake Cleaner ?

[alfair]

So I unloaded my box of reloading equipment after sitting for two years. My press and power measure had this sticky yucky brown residue on them. I assume something fell down from above and leaked.
About the only thing I had lying around was brake fluid cleaner, so I sprayed them down. It worked great, everything moves very freely once again.

I wiped everything down real good. The plastic power holder did cloud up a little even though I tried to keep the cleaner off, kinda figured that might happen.

It's all grease free and dry. This is just an old single stage press and measure from Lyman....

Should I be concerned about anything?

 

[870]

No, brake cleaner is the be all and end all of cleaners. The old stand by.

 

[loadedround]

Alfair: Brake cleaner is a great cleaner and degreaser and will remove all debris from metal. Having said that, I would suggest you relube any movimg parts on your press to prevent rusting and to keep them moving freely. Do keep BC away from all plastics howerer.

 

[alfair]

Thanks Guys. It's been few years, got to get everything setup again. Now where are those darn books!

 

[stubbicatt]

Nonchlorinated brake cleaner is safe around most plastics. It is hell on wood finishes though.

Don't ask how I know this.

 

[italian biker]

Nonchlorinated brake cleaner is safe around most plastics. It is hell on wood finishes though.

Don't ask how I know this.
How'd you know?

 

[Sport45]

Nonchlorinated brake cleaner is safe around most plastics. It is hell on wood finishes though.

I hope it wasn't your best stock. Did it need to be refinished anyway?

 

[FM12]

Just keep in mind some of these have flammable components in them, and use due caution.

FM (Fire Marshal ) 12

 

[spencerhut]

Be careful with that stuff, it can and will remove the paint from your press. Been there, done that on my Rock Chucker.

 

[Wedge]

I love brake cleaner...always have a bunch on hand. But then again I am always doing brakes :-/

+1 on lubing though, some RemOil w/ teflon, let it soak and blow it off with compressed air should work.

 

[frankd4]

BC is the best gun cleaner

I have used the stuff on my Glocks and XD's the blow them off with the compresser then lube in half the time, been doing it for years no iisues.

 

[scrat]

a mechanics two best friends.

Brake cleaner

Carb cleaner

 

[Roccobro]

a mechanics two best friends

I thought that was the Snap-on and Matco dealers (with free calendars of course).

Justin

 

[bullseye308]

Which would be better, or is there any difference between carb cleaner and brake cleaner for cleaning firearms? I have been using carb cleaner for a while but have not used brake cleaner.

 

[RifleGuy]

Brake cleaners tend to leave no residue, many carb cleaners have additives that will leave a film on the gun. (Residue on brake rotors is evil...) A residue on the gun could be corrosive if not removed; the carb cleaners are designed to eat away varnish deposits from fuel, thus may end up etching your finish.

Use with caution!

 

[kir_kenix]

brake parts cleaner is great stuff! i use it on just about everything. i like to take the barreled action out of the stock BEFORE i use it however. it is hell on remingtons stock finishes....and everything else im sure . i could see this being pretty bad on some plactic reloading tools as well.

just make sure u use a lubricant afterwards (as has already been mentioned) because it leaves the metal with absolutely no protection after its done its job.

 

[bullseye308]

Cool, I'll put the carb cleaner away and get some brake cleaner. Thanks for the help.

 

[04JRB]

I havent used it on any guns at all, but I use it quite often for cleaning dies and such. It dries quick without residue and moments later I can be using it (dies) again.

 

[jjohnson]

Use Your Air Compressor, Too!

Yes, indeed, BC is great stuff. Some of the handguns I shoot a lot get kind of dirty owing to heavy use and ammo types. Sometimes when I come home from the range, I stop in my garage, strip off the grips, blast away with the brake cleaner, then blow all the debris free with an air compressor. Mind you, the bore still needs attention, but it's a great way to get started. Often, after taking care of the bore and parts that need real attention, I'll take one back to the garage, blast it with a teflon-type lube, and air hose it again to get the excess off. +1 on the stuff being a great degreaser, just make sure that when you're done, things get properly lubricated. It takes my chore time down to about half of what it used to be.

 

[627PCFan]

I use CRC on my Benelli's. No worries-

 

[moosehunt]

Mr. kenix referred to Brake Cleaner as being hell on Remington stock finishes. I wonder, might it be a good product for removing those damnable finishes when desired, i.e. to refinish?

 

[Slamfire]

Wear some sort of glove. Those cleaners can cause chemical burns.

I was using carb cleaner to degrease a Victory Revolver. The thin nitrile gloves I was wearing ripped and tore. Got carb cleaner all over my hands.

Later the skin started to peel off the right hand. Nice fresh sensitive skin was being exposed. I kept the right hand coated with hand lotion, if the skin dried, the skin would start to itch and peel.

Lasted for darn near a year.

Those chemicals, they ain't made for humans.

 

[RifleGuy]

Wear some sort of glove. Those cleaners can cause chemical burns.

I was working on my truck, replacing front wheel bearings, and had liberally applied brake cleaner to a rotor to remove my greasy fingerprints. Not paying attention, I didn't notice the cleaner pouring back towards me until after it had soacked through the crotch & seat of my jeans.
The "boys" had some nasty chemical burns, my throat was sore from the hollering, and the neighbors were a bit concerned at the roundish lunatic screaming and pealing his pants off in the driveway.

What's the Roger Alan Wade song; If You're Gonna Be Dumb, You Better Be Tough? :banghead:

 

[243_shooter]

Playing with various 'brands' of brake cleaner on a daily basis, I think it's worth mentioning that they vary a tremendous amount depending on who made them..

The CRC brand stuff we used to get was very mild (so mild in fact it would barely remove oil / grease).

We've got some newer stuff (branded Mopar, unsure of the maker) that is downright nasty.. Dissolves gloves, erases paint, and makes plastic disappear.. very strong stuff. First I've seen since they outlawed the good stuff that actually works though!

Be carefull with the stuff is I guess what I'm getting at!

Leo

 

[Jenrick]

I'm a firm believer in brake cleaner. I will use it to house out the internals on pistols, and do it over the weeds in the cracks on my driveway. Bye-bye weeds. PVC chemical gloves are my recommended hand protection if you're working with the heavy duty stuff and not just walmart store brand cleaner. The lighter weight stuff I've found nitrils work fine for handling.

-Jenrick